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Odessa Embers
Odessa Embers is a major character in Into the Chaos. ''She is the youngest of Leon Ashenhearth II's children, a sibling to Argon and Varenna. She is married to Lord Cedric Embers. Her visit to Trinesse and unlawful detainment sets the stage for the War of the Thirteen Houses. Background Odessa is the youngest daughter of Lord Leon Ashenhearth II. Lord Leon II was the head of House Ashenhearth and Lord Paramount of the Fyre Islands, one of the Thirteen Territories of Alantys. House Ashenhearth rules the region from their seat of Ashdown. Odessa had two older siblings, Varenna and Argon Ashenhearth. Her father arranged a betrothal between her and Cedric Embers. Titles * Lady Paramount of the North ** Lady of Wingcaster * Light of the North Odessa was named Lady Paramount of the North and Lady of Wingcaster on her the grounds of her marriage to Cedric Embers. In addition, she is named Light of the North as the Guardian's wife. She is styled as ''"Her ladyship Odessa Embers of House Ashenhearth, Lady of Wingcaster, Lady Paramount and Light of the North." Formal Name Among the Great Houses of Alantys, custom permits women to take their husband's family name, yet retain their original House. Such is the reason why women of nobility are addressed by their husband's family name, yet are still introduced as belonging to their original House (i.e. Lady Odessa Embers of House Ashenhearth, Lady Jaesera Ashenhearth of House Duffray). In Alantys, only members of noble Houses typically have surnames (i.e. "Argon Ashenhearth" is actually "Argon of House Ashenhearth" in full). The nobility of the realm is actually formed of roughly 5 tiers, which in descending order are: the royal family, the Great Houses who rule entire regions, the Patron Houses, the Vassal Houses, and the Knightly Houses. Great Houses rule each of the Thirteen Territories - such as the Blaises who rule Arrowvale, the Whites who rule the Silver Valleys, and the Ashras who rule the Feastwoods. Patron Houses are those under the Great Houses, such as House Duffray which serves the Ashenhearths, or House Powle which serves the Whites. Underneath them are the vassal Houses (i.e. House Weiss, vassals of House Duffray), and below them are knightly Houses (i.e. House Leger): the difference between the two is that lesser Lords still have the right to dispense justice on their lands while knights do not. Typically, if a noblewoman marries above her station into a more powerful family, she will switch to publicly using that family name. For example, "Jaesera (Erra) Ashenhearth" was born "Jaesera Duffray", but the Ashenhearths are the Duffray's overlords so she switched to use of that name. A noblewoman who married below her station would defiantly continue to use the name of the more prestigious family she was born into. Women of the Great Houses, however, are given more freedom in regards to which family name they should use. Given that the Ashenhearths and Embers's are both Great Houses of equal social rank, both former royal houses, it therefore isn't automatically assumed that Odessa would switch to being known as "Odessa Embers"; she may choose to stay as "Odessa Ashenhearth of House Embers" if she so chooses. Ancestry Odessa comes from a long line of pure Vareon nobles, hailing from House Ashenhearth. Generations of compound inbreeding have preserved in the Ashenhearth bloodlines the classic Vareon features, of which Odessa possesses the pale silver (platinum blonde) hair, pale grey eyes and pale white skin. Family Tree * Lord Leon Ashenhearth II, died of a broken heart after his wife's death * His wife Lady Ryana, deceased ** Leon's eldest child and daughter, Varenna Ashenhearth ** Leon's eldest and only son, Argon, Lord of Ashdown ** Leon's youngest daughter, Odessa Ashenhearth *** Her husband Lord Cedric of House Embers **** Her first son, Raeven Embers **** Her second son, Caspian Embers In the Books In ''The Thirteenth Chronicle, ''Odessa is in her early 30's when the series begins. She is a noted lover of the city, habitually visiting the capital every year. It is also mentioned that she always takes a ship to Ashdown to visit her brother and his family after, then taking a ship back to the North. She has close ties with her childhood friend Lady Erra Ashenhearth, especially with her brother Argon. The three grew up together while Odessa and Argon's eldest sister Varenna was fostered as a ward in the Clifflands. Odessa is etravagant, elegant, and commands great respect in the Fyre Islands and in the North. She is a loving wife to her husband, Lord Cedric Wulfborne.